Vladimir Geshkenbein Wins EPT Snowfest

Day 5 of the European Poker Tour Snowfest event saw the final table dwindled down to an eventual winner. That honor went to Vladimir Geshkenbein, taking home €390,000 for his efforts.

With three Belgian pros Vandersmissen, Philip Meulyzer and Koen De Visscher starting the day first, third and fifth in chips respectively, it seemed that the first Belgian player winning a European Poker Tour event was inevitable, however, it wasn’t to be.

The real action at the final table started about 30 minutes into the day. Giacomo Maisto picked up K-K against Vandersmissen’s Q-Q to double up, then A-A against K-K and doubled through Meulyzer to take over the chip lead at that point.

At the final table it was Morten Mortensen who was first player to be eliminated. He lost a coin flip with pocket eights against De Visscher’s A-J. This elimination was followed by PokerStars qualifier, Denis Murphy, after he moved all in with A-J over Vandersmissen’s min-raise open but the Belgian called him with A-K which made top pair on the flop.

Meulyzer was next to be eliminated. His A-K was looking good all the way down to the river which gave his opponent two pair to ruin his dreams of taking down EPT Snowfest.

When play was five-handed Geshkenbein found himself short stacked. In one hand, he check-raised all in for his remaining chips on a J-2-6 flop with two hearts against PokerStars qualifier Cristian Dragomir. Dragomir made the call with pocket eights. Geshkenbein revealed Kh-Th and the 9h river completed Geshkenbein’s flush and he doubled up.

After the break, Belgian player Dragomir was eliminated in the first hand, and then it was Maisto who was eliminated in the most unfortunate of circumstances. He was all in with Q-T against Geshkenbein’s Q-4 on a board of Q-9-8 but turn didn’t improve his hand and the river brought the 4 and two pair for Geshkenbein, and Maisto was knocked out in fourth place.

Then De Visscher was eliminated in third place when he open-shoved from the button with Ac-7c but couldn’t beat Geshkenbein’s jacks in the big blind.

The heads-up match was decided between Geshkenbein and Vandersmissen, and despite the two players having fairly deep stacks, it didn’t take very long for all the chips to go into the middle preflop as Geshkenbein’s A-9 battled Vandersmissen’s K-T. When the flop came down A-9-8, it was all but over, and Geshkenbein was confirmed as the second ever winner of the EPT Snowfest event in Austria.